GIANT ROBO THE ANIMATION - The Day the Earth Stood Still Episode. 7 Last Episode Crossing the Span of Ten Years Director Imagawa's Unending Struggle "Giant Robo the Animation - The Day the Earth Stood Still" has reached its final episode at long last. To reach this point took five years from when Episode. 1 went on sale, seven years since production began, and a full ten years since the show's inception: something basically impossible for an ordinary OVA series. Furthermore, that an animation with such varied contents could be so far from losing its luster, still delivering top-level contents, is due to, humbly speaking, the all-out efforts of the staff which Director Imagawa founded, the cooperation of the seiyuu, and more than anything else to the enthusiastic, ceaseless voices of support that all of you sent us. In other words, "Giant Robo" is a work that exists because of the support of its fans. Director Imagawa's has, while ordering his messages to the fans and the answers to the demands and sentiments gathered in great numbers in his heart, spoken about the episodes that couldn't be made for one reason or another, and brought the series to a conclusion. The Last Episode, which can be shown with confidence ---------------------------------------------------- - So, "Giant Robo" has finally come this far, but do you think you've accomplished everything you wanted to do at the outset? Imagawa - Well, there are a lot of little things left over, but I think we were able to speak to the fundamental point of the work. There were parts that had to be cut in the interest of increasing the speed of the work, but looking back on it, I think that it rather summarized my thoughts, and resulted in a more highly polished final product. I feel that it was a good move. - So you're generally satisfied? Imagawa - I've been involved in the making of a lot of anime, but I've never felt any freer in the creation than I was for this. If there wasn't anything among any of that I could be satisfied with, I'd be disqualified as a director (laugh). But if one enjoys one's work too much, in the long run a creator will be washed away in his own self-satisfaction. That's why I thought it was a good thing that there was a demand to increase the speed of the work. Thanks to that, my sober side was saved from being innundated like the rest of me. - If that demand hadn't been there, what sort of work do you think would have resulted? Imagawa - I'm sure the contents would have turned out boring. And there's the possibility that the appearance of things like the Three Guard Division[1] and the Magnificent Ten, inflated by the world of the production, wouldn't have been able to appear. And if I went in that direction...I'm sure I myself would have suffered over what sort of outcome to make. - Certainly, if a work isn't adequately colored it becomes stunted, right? Imagawa - There are some tricky parts, but regarding the creation of "G. Robo", to make a world that cannot be solely encompassed by a child, I had no choice but to exclude a lot of the adults on the scene. If we look at the way things are these days, if you don't prepare a background that gives the feeling of reality, the result will be a very shallow work. That's why I think it was a very good thing that I was able to let them appear. Perhaps the reason humans can produce good works is because of that kind of limitation. Making Works Suited to the Times -------------------------------- - By the way, changing the subject, the "Earth Cessation Story" is a tale about seven days, right? Imagawa - Inside my head, I'm originally thought of it as a story of about a week. But shortly after Episode. 1 was completed, due to the vagaries of production a reorganization happened, and the chronology became vague. And yet, inside Episode. 1 a week is clearly mentioned. What a pain...(laugh) We tried to fix it on the fly by putting in things like "Three days after that..." and stuff, but it was too late. I guess I have no choice but to simply beg forgiveness for that point. - The movements of the characters are complex, so a timeline is important, isn't it? Imagawa - No matter how realistic the background seems, if the image doesn't have the flavor of unfolding in reality, it's meaningless. Because of that, I had to add Ginrei's narration "That week was..." to the last scene. However, despite the distinctiveness there, since it's been more than two years since Episode. 6 and this Last Episode, whether or not we actually got that feeling across is... If you do it badly, people will just burst out laughing. So I think next time, I'll avoid having characters chat about things relating to the timing of the show. - Do you think that, during the years spent in production, that any part of your heart has changed? Imagawa - After all, the feeling during the time of creation is different. That's what I personally feel when I see Episode. 1 again. And even if it takes ten years to direct a single animated feature, if it comes out like this a little at a bit, I just can't avoid it. That is because I, myself, am changing. - That's certainly true. Plus, society is changing too. Imagawa - In the final analysis, one has to cope with the times in order to create. I think, is each episode well done according to that criterion? - Among the characters' described in these liner notes, Kawarazaki and Fitzcarraldo appeared in various fight scenes. Is this due to some change of mind on your part? Imagawa - Certainly there are some subtle changes from what I was thinking in my mind and what appeared in the actual story. For example, take Fitzcarraldo. Essentially, we were limited by our recording time. In particular, the all- out battle with Chief Chuujou - we even had the picture continuity sheets done, but we just weren't able to fit it in and had to scrap it. - How about Kawarazaki? Imagawa - I said in Episode 6. that I was going to show one of his hidden abilities, didn't I? (laugh) His activeness was also restricted by the limitations of the recording time, so to speak. And yet, the plot of the final battle fundamentally involved the clash between Giant Robo and the Giant Monster Sphere. And I couldn't let the incredibly powerful Magnificent Ten or the Nine Great Lords of Heaven appear in the middle of all that without proper advance preparation. They're so powerful that if used carelessly they could even defeat Robo, and since they're burdened with important matters of office, I couldn't let it come to some sort of "The battle with the Giant Monster Sphere is over, now let's withdraw!" - If the Magnificent Ten and the Nine Great Lords of Heaven had showed up at that time, there would have been no choice but to settle things once and for all, would there? Imagawa - If both sides _had_ shown up, it would have been an incredible thing and no mistake. But after all, this story is interesting because of the weak overcoming the strong. That's the essence of action by people like Issei Doujin, whose powers are greatly inferior to the Magnificent Ten. But let's try to imagine what it would be like to bring them together just for fun. But to do that, we've got to do a lot of setting up first. For example, stuff like, in order to protect (or kill) Daisaku, they'd have to fight in a place a little ways away. But if that happened, the supposedly decicive battle would be going on on two separate fronts. That would take time to arrange properly. For such reasons, Koumei curtailed the actions of Kawarazaki and the other members of the Magnificent Ten in the real story. But I feel that things are better of that way, because that let me show Daisaku to my heart's content. - We got to see the roster of all of the Nine Great Lords of Heaven, and I'm sure that a lot of people really wanted to see all of them gathered against the Magnificent Ten... Imagawa - Hey, that includes me! (laugh) But for that to happen, we'd have an entirely different story on our hands. As you might expect, that simply couldn't happen. Expanded Images, And... ----------------------- - Is there anything you wanted to accomplish, but could not, in this series? Imagawa - I may use the fundamental elements from this story in a future work, so please look forward to that. Perhaps individual characters, like Chief Chuujou. There's a scene that was completed all the way up to the storyboards in which Hanzui calls out his name while watching the monitor during his clash with the Giant Monster Sphere, along with the line "The man who made the only scar on my body". You see, the two of them had a fight once while Hanzui was a student at Jiizan. In those days, Chuujou was already traveling throughout the world of those who had joined the International Police Organization, and happened to be nearby Jiizan. He charged in upon receiving an alert that the B.F. Organization was attempting to recruit Hanzui, and at that time he was just _cool_. He had the hippie-style long hair too. (laugh) - I wouldn't have imagined that from seeing the way he looks now. Imagawa - At time, holding a coarse paper umbrella, he stood in front of Hanzui and struck a fighting pose. Exactly the same pose he took up when he faced the Giant Monster Sphere, right? It was even more impressive then than it is today. Then the battle began....or rather, it was supposed to... Hmm. What a shame. (laugh) - So, as a director you've put an awful lot into "Giant Robo". Please offer the fans who have purchased this Last Episode your final thoughts. Imagawa - Everyone, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Especially for those who have followed the series from the start, I can't find adequate words of gratitude. There's no way I could have brought this all the way to completion without hearing the voices of the fans along the way. I intend to go on giving everyone my best shot, so I hope to be able to receive the same kind of sentiment in the future too. Thanks to everyone for coming this far with me! Director Imagawa's Character Chapters Producer Yamaki's Music Chapters ------------------------------------- -------------------------------- Side 1 1. Opening Credits 1. Prelude to the Grand Finale 2. And the Gate to the Conclusion Opens 3. Confrontation! The Nine Great Lords of Heaven of Ryouzanpaku 4. South Ryouzanpaku, Annihlated? 5. Ryouzanpaku Appears! Ginrei's Decision 6. Cruel! Merciless! The Magnificent Ten! 7. Begin! The Earth Cessation Operation 8. The Promise - Daisaku and Ginrei 9. Will the Tragedy be Repeated? Now, The Key to that Answer Dances Away 10. Go the Scholar Cries Out 11. Before the Decisive Battle - The Silence of the Stealthy Approach of Unease 12. Battle Stations! The Revival of the Giant Monster Sphere is Nigh! 13. The Deadline. Farewell, Murasame Kenji! 14. Phantom Resistance 15. The Craft of the Schemer! The Man Who Controls Even Fate, Shoukatsu Ryou Koumei 16. Regret Fosters Nothing!! Whatever the Truth May Be... 17. Until The Day We Can Meet Again! Now, the Wall Between the Two Crumbles! 18. Prepare Yourself! No Mercy Just Because You're a Child! 19. Plotting in the Gallery 19. The Door To Destruction Opens! 20. The Second Alarm Sounds! St. Abaye vs. the Giant Monster Sphere 21. St. Abaye! Main Reactor Online! 22. Is That It? The Time To Make Your Father's Last Request Come True is Now! 23. The Settlement of Ten Years of Shizuma Drives 24. Here I Come, St. Abaye! I've Lived Ten Years for This Day! 25. The Burning Finale! The Fate of 25. Hanzui's Doubts The Boy Dyed in Crimson 26. In the Bag! Koumei's Stealthy Plotting 27. The Final Exigency! The Time of Judgement is at Hand! 28. The Counterattack. Daisaku's Decision 29. Too Soon! That Was Only One Step Backward! 30. The Boy Steps Forth! Seek An Answer For Your Father! Side 2 31. Go, Giant Robo! Dispose of the 31. The Greatest Battle in History! Giant Monster Sphere! Abaye, Painted Crimson 32. Forward, Kusama Daisaku! Robo is Waiting for You!! 33. We are the Keppuu-Ren! Our Swords Choose Not our Foes! 34. The Arrival of Kaei and Koushin from Southernmost Ryouzanpaku! SEEKING THE TRUTH IS MEANINGFUL, AND HATH VALUE! 35. Now, Everyone to the Battle! The Victory Bell Rings Out! 36. Meeting Again. Didn't I Tell You I'd Protect You From Now On? 37. Now, Come My Son. Join Everyone In Battle! 38. Robo Falters! This is the Final Time of Righteousness 39. Albert the Impact! To Decide the Fate of the World By Our Own Hands! 40. The Shockwave of Friendship 41. FIRE!! Giant Robo! 41. Robo, Fire All Weapons 42. The Sorrowful Sound of the Golden Bell Fades Away 43. Emmanuel and Farmehrle 44. The Final Step of Shizuma 45. White and Black - To the End of All 46. Black and White - To the Beginning of All 47. Father's Last Request 48. Father's Inheritance (Unknown Tears) 49. The Grand Finale - The Beautiful, Illusory Night Descends 50. The Schemer, His Scheme Defeated - But That is Also the True G.R. Project! 51. The G.R. Project 52. Our Beautiful, Shining Future; 52. Hope for the Future And People Dream of Happiness 53. Epilogue - The Mirror Images of Hope and Despair 54. The End 54. The Battle Continues! (Ending) 55. End Title, And... Translator's Notes ------------------ [1] This is the name of one of the groups in the show, but precisely who I'm not sure. ^^;;;